Mr. Potatohead does Clockwork Orange
by Muhammad on April 29, 2008
in Uncategorized
Alex : There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.
I wonder if this little toy will give kids nightmares? Awesome movie, Awesome story, Classic Book, Really Weird Looking Potato.
Akira Adaptation to Hit Big Screen
by Muhammad on April 25, 2008
in Uncategorized
Akira, the 1988 Classic Anime movie which defined the genre, has been announced to hit the big screen in 2009. The project is still in the scripting phase being written by Katsuhiro Otomo (who created the manga) and Garry Whitta.
Rumoured to be included in this classic production is Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, The Lookout). Leonardo DiCaprio is also Producing the film along with Akira’s creator Katsuhiro Otomo as the Executive Producer.
This project is also only part one of a two part adaptation of the Classic Manga movie. I guess we’ll know more after Akira (Part one) goes into production.
For those not familiar with the manga or the classic movie (which movie addict wouldn’t be?), the plot is simply that of a leader of a biker gang trying to save his kidnapped friend from a powerful supernatural experiment. Yup, Classic manga story-line too… philosophy, contemplation and complexity.
As we know, most times books are better than their movie adaptations, I just hope this doesn’t disappoint.
btw… for all you Akiraphobes, they have actually CREATED Kenada’s Bike!
“Speed Racer” gets Brands Revving Their Engines…
Advertising Age has an interesting article on how brands are leveraging this years blockbuster hit to increase their sales, especially since the movie is seen to appeal to a very wide range of audiences. The upcoming Wachowski Brother flick, Speed Racer, will have tie-in deals with General Mills, Yokohama Tire Corp., McDonald’s Corp., Nintendo, AutoTrader.com, esurance.com and Mattel. A Warner Spokesperson has said that the deals vary.
Similar to Burger King’s marketing tie-in with “Iron Man”, BK gets a mention in the movie. There is no branding for McDonalds on Speed Racer, though, Mcdonalds has the rights to sell Speed Racer toys with it’s Happy Meals.
Mattel is making a similar move by branding it’s Hot Wheels range with the Speed racer logo. General Mills will get a “Cheerio’s” Racing car. Yokohama Tires gave away Speed Racer key Cahisn and Posters at it’s paddock at the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. Nintendo give consumers a reason to buy the Nintendo Wii’s wheel Accessory and launches the Speed Racer Game.
Link
Technorati Tags: Speed Racer, Advertising, Marketing, Brands
Why I Like Rambo
by Muhammad on April 16, 2008
in Uncategorized
Rambo was the quintessential hero back in the day (that’s the 80’s). Of course now when you look back at the story line and you begin to analyse the propaganda behind the entire franchise. US Imperialist agenda all over the screen. But back when I was 3-4 years old and I was begging my Dad to get me cartoons from the video store… he came back with Rambo. So in effect, my first exposure to the world of action movies was this muscle bound Sylvester Stallone with the trademark red band around his head and a rocket launcher swinging from his back.
I can’t remember the movie now, but I remember the feeling after the movie… it was something like… “OMG, that was so AWESOME!” Maybe it was just a typical excited reaction of a hyper-active male child. Still, for me, Rambo was the shit.
Now some 20 years later we’re seeing Stallone still at it, being a hard-core action hero, the red band and the testosterone. It brought back some memories. And the movie wasn’t bad at all. Burma is one of the world’s most under-reported conflict zones, and seeing someone kick the shit out of those genocidal maniacs was greatly satisfying.
From a marketing perspective, Stallone has kept Rambo true to the Brand. The only change was that he made the story entirely relevant to today’s context, and not hinging on the over-used war in Iraq, not that the war in Iraq is irrelevant. It’s just that the media is so oversaturated with Iraq that we have become immune to the war and its consequences.
Burma also plays well into the Rambo story of him being involved in Vietnam in his previous movies. The story does have the feel of an action hero, getting old, but not giving up. As he said in the movie “You know what you are… and when you’re pushed, killing is as easy as breathing.” Okay, it IS very clichéd and very old-school action movie type dialogue… but I enjoyed it. Sometimes, I feel it just ruins things to over-analyse.
